Abraham Ortelius, Abraham Ortelius his epitome of the theatre of the worlde, 1603 - binding view.

Binding for everyday use in Shakespeare's time.
Elizabethan books were usually sold unbound, the price being set by a Stationers' Company ordinance, or regulation, of 1586 at 1d. [one old penny] per ...

Gasparo Contarini, The commonwealth and government of Venice, 1599 - binding

A hard-wearing vellum binding of Shakespeare's time.
This volume is in its original binding of flexible vellum, with a hand-sewn spine. Vellum (a kind of leather from very young, still-born, or foetal ...

A woodcut as decoration.
Woodcuts used to ornament Elizabethan texts were frequently ornate and often symbolic of ideas contained within the text with which they are associated. The cherubs with lute ...

A printer describes his map of Shakespeare's London.
The French printer of this map of London used a corner to describe the city and the River Thames. Although it is in Latin this description would ...

Giambattista Geraldi Cinthio, Hecatommithi, 1580 - binding

A continental binding contemporary with Shakespeare.
Vellum was occasionally used for decorative bindings, especially on the continent of Europe. This binding, probably from Venice, has neat gilded ...

A printer's device on a Shakespeare Italian sourcebook.
Many of the books to be found on the bookstalls of cosmopolitan Elizabethan London were imported from the printing houses of France, and Italy. ...

Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, 1634 - binding view.

A contemporary expensive decorative binding on a Shakespeare source text
The fine gold tooling, and leather spine label are original to this volume, indicating a wealthy first owner who commissioned ...

Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes, 1603 - p. A4r detail.

Dedicatory verses to a noble patron of Shakespeare's contemporary.
Members of Queen Elizabeth's court, both men and women, as well as the Queen herself, enjoyed the work of poets and playwrights, offering ...